I've never been very impressed by the food or the service. But the windows, man, they make it aallllll worth it.

Update: as noted below and elsewhere, Windows on the World is no more. It was destroyed September 11, 2001 when Tower #1 (Thanks Zorin!) collapsed. I am leaving the above description as a tribute to a magnificent view, now lost to us, in the hopes that it will encourage anyone who sees it to demand the rebuilding of the World Trade Center complex. While the precise shape of the towers probably won't and can't be duplicated, and we may only get one instead of two, I urge and entreat everyone who doesn't wish to give in to the horrific system of values and efforts made by those who destroyed the original to push for at least the construction of an edifice as tall as the original.

Located on the 107th floor of 1 World Trade Center (the north tower), the Windows on the World restaurant was a full quarter-mile into the air. Opened in 1976, the restaurant's large picture windows offered a spectacular view of the city, Manhattan harbor, flights arriving and departing the three local airports, and, on clear days, parts of Connecticut. Chef Michael Lomonaco - seen on the Discovery Channel and Food Network - directed the American-style culinary aspect of the restaurant, which offered both upscale and casual dining, dancing and live music, private dining rooms and special events. The bar at Windows, which called itself the Greatest Bar on Earth, featured amphitheater-style seating facing the outer windows and offered the restaurant's full menu, a full bar, and sushi. The bar's cover charge was just five dollars - significantly less than the thirteen dollars tourists were charged to reach the building's observation deck. Other restaurants on the same floor included the WTC Club, which catered to the business elite who worked in the building, and the Cellar in the Sky.

Regrettably, the restaurant and many of its employees were lost on September 11, 2001 following a terrorist attack on the building. Michael Lomanaco and the restaurant's owner, David Emil, joined with the owners of other major restaurants to establish Windows of Hope, an organization formed to provide assistance, including funds and future scholarships, to the families of individuals who died working in the food, beverage, and hospitality locations throughout the WTC complex.